Living with cancer in the COVID-19 pandemic: An Italian survey on self-isolation at home.
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
; 30(2): e13385, 2021 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-963041
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the perception of self-isolation at home in patients with cancer during the lockdown period resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.METHODS:
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted through an online survey of patients with cancer who were sheltering at home from 29th March to 3rd May 2020. Perception of self-isolation was assessed using the ISOLA scale, after evaluation of its psychometric properties. Content analysis was used to analyse two open-ended questions.RESULTS:
The participants were 195 adult patients with cancer (female = 76%; mean age = 50.3 ± 11.2; haematological malignancy = 51.3%). They reported moderate isolation-related suffering (M = 2.64 ± 0.81), problems in their relationships with others (M = 3.31 ± 1.13) and difficulties in their relationships with themselves (M = 3.14 ± 1.06). Patients who experienced significantly more social problems were older, had less education and were living without minor children. Overall, four main categories emerged from the qualitative contentanalysis:
(1) lack of freedom and social life, (2) uncertainty and worries, (3) feeling supported and (4) dealing with isolation.CONCLUSION:
Living with cancer in the COVID-19 pandemic was often perceived as an isolating experience, primarily in terms of detachment from loved ones.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Isolation
/
Social Support
/
Family Characteristics
/
Educational Status
/
COVID-19
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
Journal subject:
Nursing
/
Neoplasms
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ecc.13385
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